= EAP-TLS: Certificate-based authentication

*Goal:* To configure the server to use the EAP-TLS authentication
protocol and to send and receive test packets.

*Time:* 20-35 minutes.

*Files:*

- `etc/raddb/mods-available/eap`
- `scripts/certs.sh`
- `etc/raddb/certs/`

EAP-TLS is an authentication protocol that uses a TLS session, along
with client and server certificates, to authenticate a user. You
should now verify that the `rlm_eap_tls` module was built and installed
by executing:

[source, bash]
--------------------------------------
$ ls -l usr/lib64/freeradius/rlm_eap*
--------------------------------------

Use the directory where the FreeRADIUS libraries were installed.

You should see not only files like `rlm_eap.so`, but also
`rlm_tls_md5.so` and `rlm_eap_tls.so`. If you do not see those files,
you will have to install them now. If necessary, you may have to
re-build the server, as follows:

[source, bash]
---------------------------------------------------------------
$ ./configure --prefix=$HOME/freeradius/ \
              --with-openssl-include-dir=/usr/local/ssl/include \
              --with-openssl-lib-dir=/usr/local/ssl/lib
$ make
$ make install
---------------------------------------------------------------

This exercise has insufficient room to describe how to debug any
configuration, build, or installation problems with the `rlm_eap_tls`
module. For the remainder of this exercise, we will assume that the
driver is installed in the appropriate library directory.

By default, the server creates a set of test certificates inside of the
`raddb` directory, called `certs`. This directory contains sample server
and client certificates, along with a demonstration certificate
authority. These certificates may be used for this exercise, but should
not be used in any live deployment of the server.

You now edit the `etc/raddb/mods-available/eap` file to enable
the `tls`. You should also set the configuration entry `default_eap_type`
to `tls`.

Start the server and verify that the `tls` module was loaded and that
the server is `Ready to process requests`.

This exercise does not cover how to configure EAP-TLS on the wireless
client, nor how to set up a wireless access point to perform EAP-TLS. We
suggest that the you consult the documentation for your wireless
client software for details on this process.

The wireless client will require the client certificate from the
`raddb/certs` directory.

Once the wireless client has been configured to enable EAP-TLS,
you should perform a test authentication to the server. If all goes well,
the server, AP, and wireless client should exchange multiple RADIUS
`Access-Request` and `Access-Challenge` packets. This process should take
a few seconds, and you should wait until it is done. If all goes
well, the final packet from the server should be an `Access-Accept` and
should contain the `MS-MPPE-Recv-Key` and `MS-MPPE-Send-Key` attributes.

Verify that the authentication succeeded by using the `ping` command to
see if the wireless client now has network access.

== Further considerations

EAP-TLS is an authentication protocol and nothing more. As such, the
wireless client will still need to obtain an IP address. This address
may be configured statically, or it may be obtained through DHCP.

A benefit of EAP-TLS over EAP-MD5 is that it supports the creation of
dynamic WEP keys. These keys are more secure than statically configured
WEP keys and do not require administrator interaction to configure
them. However, they are not perfectly secure, and we recommend that the
server be configured to send a `Session-Timeout` attribute in the RADIUS
`Access-Accept` packet in order to force the user to re-authenticate
periodically, which will create new dynamic WEP keys.

An issue with EAP-TLS is that it requires a client certificate. For
secure authentication that does not require client certificates, see
the EAP-TTLS and EAP-PEAP protocols.

	Configuring the wireless client (usually a laptop or notebook
computer) to perform EAP-TLS may be difficult. Windows (since Windows XP)
ships with an EAP-PEAP client, which may influence any decision about
which wireless authentication protocol to use.

== Questions

1.  What other benefits does EAP-TLS have over EAP-MD5?
2.  What happens to the user's password when they use EAP-TLS?
3.  Would you use EAP-TLS in a large deployment? If so, why? If not, why
not?
4.  What is the purpose of the `MS-MPPE-Recv-Key` and `MS-MPPE-Send-Key`
attributes in the final `Access-Accept` packet?

// Copyright (C) 2021 Network RADIUS SAS.  Licenced under CC-by-NC 4.0.
// This documentation was developed by Network RADIUS SAS.
